This tasty and flavorful tapas or starter is from one of my favorite cuisines, i.e. Mallorcan cuisine. Its main ingredient is sobrassada sausage, a Balearic specialty made of raw, cured pork spiced with (of course) paprika and other spices. Outside of Spain, it can usually be found in Spanish and Mediterranean specialty food shops.

Traditionally, sobrassada bread is served with a bit of the island’s famous honey. I, unfortunately, cannot abide the taste of honey but various other sweet preserves or sauces work as a great alternative, and sugar is not uncommon, either. Personally, I like it best with a topping of sweet pear sauce that I buy at my cheese shop. A drizzle of maple syrup is nice as well and fruit preserves such as apricot jam are almost as classic an accompaniment as honey. And, finally, the sobrassada breads are also fantastic pure!

Sanni

Ingredients (per serving):

• 1 to 2 slices of fresh white bread, e.g. baguette
• some virgin olive oil (high quality)
• approx. 50 to 70 grams of Sobrasada de Mallorca
• 1 to 2 branches of fresh thyme
• Spanish honey (alternatively: maple syrup, fruit sauce or preserves, or sugar)

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 100 degrees Celsius.
2. Drizzle the bread slices with olive oil.
3. Roast the bread in the oven for approximately 10 minutes until dry (without turning dark).
4. Spread the sobrassada on the the bread. Continue roasting in the oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes until the sobrassada just starts picking up a little bit of color.
5. In the meantime, wash & dry the thyme and pick off the leaves. Sprinkle over the sobrassada breads before serving.
6. Serve warm. Enjoy pure, with some honey or any other sweet condiment drizzled over the top to taste.